WEEK 11 兒童文學筆記

1. Information

a.  To Kill A Mockingbird

The Quotation of Chapter One

“Maycomb was an old town, but it was a tired old town (it symbolizes that the town is conservative and for white only) when I first knew it. In rainy weather the streets turned to red slop; grass grew on the sidewalks, the courthouse sagged in the square. Somehow, it was hotter then: a black dog suffered on a summer’s day; bony mules hitched to Hoover carts flicked flied in the sweltering shade of the live oaks on the square. Men’ s stiff collars wilted by nine in the morning. Ladies bathed before noon, after their three-o’clock naps, and by night fall were like soft teacakes with frostings of sweat and sweet talcum."

→ Maycomb is a fictional town. And the "Maycomb" means "may come."

b. Stand up, your father is passing

At this point in the movie, the trial that takes most of the focus of To Kill a Mockingbird is over. Atticus Finch has fought the good fight, but he's lost. Tom Robinson, a black man wrongly accused of raping a white woman, will go to jail. As the white audience (seated in the lower courtroom), files out of the room, Atticus collects his belongings.
But, the black audience (seated on the balcony) stays put the entire time. As Atticus prepares to leave the courtroom, the crowd begins to stand up. Reverend Sykes turns to Atticus' daughter, Jean Louise (called Scout), and tells her to stand up, too, because her father is about to pass by all of them.
These words and actions are a mark of respect for Atticus. Even though he lost in the end, the community understands he did the best he could and appreciates the role he played. This is also a lesson for Scout, who sees the way people respect her father for doing what's right.

c. Sparknotes- To Kill A Mockingbird

The book remains a staple of high school and college reading lists, beloved by millions of readers worldwide for its appealing depiction of childhood innocence, its scathing moral condemnation of racial prejudice, and its affirmation that human goodness can withstand the assault of evil.

2. extra information 

a. Lady Godiva and Peeping Tom

Godiva, Countess of Mercia was an English noblewoman who, according to a legend dating at least to the 13th century, rode naked – covered only in her long hair – through the streets of Coventry to gain a remission of the oppressive taxation that her husband imposed on his tenants. The name "Peeping Tom" for a voyeur originates from later versions of this legend in which a man named Tom watched her ride and was struck blind or dead.

b. Doubting Thomas

A doubting Thomas is a skeptic who refuses to believe without direct personal experience—a reference to the Apostle Thomas, who refused to believe that the resurrected Jesus had appeared to the ten other apostles, until he could see and feel the wounds received by Jesus on the cross.


c. reach the verdict

Do the jury reach the verdict?

Yes, we do. Your honor. We found the defendant (not) guilty.

3.  prefix, root and suffix  

mal : something bad                          ex. malign, malevolent, malicious
malign (v.) to say unpleasant things about someone or something, usually unfairly

malevolent (a.) showing that you want to do something bad to someone

bene : good                                        ex. benevolent, benefit, beneficially
benefit (n.) an advantage you get from a situation